Drug lord and public enemy number one Pablo Escobar loved cars perhaps even more than cash. He famously made more money than General Motors, but spent plenty of it on his hobby.
Highlights of the notorious Colombian’s car collection included a 1928 Cadillac V8 Town Sedan, just like the one owned by Al Capone, a Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman, and even a little Renault 4. However, his true passion was reserved for Porsches. A 1956 356 Speedster was said to be his favourite, and he also owned the 1978 Le Mans-winning 935, and one of just 15 911 RSRs built for the International Race of Champions in 1974.
The race saw 12 drivers from different racing disciplines drive identical 911s. Among the stars in rear-engined cars were A.J. Foyt, Richard Petty, Bobby Unser, Denny Hulme and Emerson Fittipaldi who drove the car that Escobar would subsequently buy.
Fittipaldi qualified on pole for the first of the four races, but was penalised ten places on the grid for turning up late to the driver’s meeting. After making his way up through the field at the Riverside circuit, Fittipaldi had an off, and then retired with a fuel leak. As spare cars were available this outing was the car’s only appearance in IROC.
The car was sold to North Lake Porsche Audi four days later, and then to John Tunstall at T. & C. Racing who raced as a privateer in IMSA including at the Sebring 12 Hours, and the Daytona 24 Hours. Escobar acquired the RSR and converted it to a 935-style flatnose and raced it in local events.
It was later returned to the United States and restored to its original condition. Last sold for auction in 2012 for $875,000 (£630,000), and with just 225 miles on the clock since its refurbishment, the car is now being offered for sale through duPont Registry for a not-to-be-sniffed-at $2.2m – around £1.6 million.
